Chapter Six

And your lives will hang before you in the balance,
and you will be afraid day and night, and not believe that
you are alive

(Devorim 28:66)

The spring arrived, and the farmers returned to their work in the fields. The
planting began, and everyone eagerly awaited the spring. In the Jewish homes,
everyone was preparing for Pesach. Yet, the women were working with broken
hearts, while they were silent with sorrow. Many weeks have passed and the
families of those men who were taken for forced labor to the Munka
Salglat, didn't receive any letter from their husbands and fathers, or
sons, or even any indication that they were alive.

On Monday, March 19, 1944, at 11:00, the radio announced that the German army
had entered Hungary at eight o'clock in the morning. I closed the radio
immediately. I didn't want to hear anymore, knowing that this foretold the end.
All hope that Hungary would not share the fate of the other European countries
was gone! We knew that the end was coming. The question was only how and when?
How many days or weeks would it take? The Jews met each other in the streets
without saying a word. There was nothing to say. Everyone felt that they had no
way of escaping.

In the course of time, the young people of military age, were called to go to
the forced labor camps (and I was also among them). Their parents and relatives
accompanied them to the train stations, and hardly wept. The families and their
sons knew that they would not see each other again. There eyes met as they
separated without any hope for a reunion.

In the meantime, the holiday of Pesach came with everyone awaiting the future,
which was so full of sadness. The last day of Pesach the government summoned
the head of the community, Shmuel Berger, and asked him to prepare for them a
list of all the men of the community, from the youngest till the oldest within
three hours. In the afternoon, the government summoned Dr Gargey Bartlan to the
city council, and asked him to gather all the Jewish men in the large
synagogue, and speak to them in Hungarian. In the shul no one held speeches in
Hungarian. They wanted him to calm everyone down. At four o'clock in the
afternoon, the men all gathered to hear Dr Bartlan speak, while the guards of
the Hungarian police were on the premises. He tried to calm the audience, and
asked them to follow all the instructions which would be given to them, in
order to prevent a greater tragedy than that which befell the Jews in the
smaller town. After he spoke, he began to cry bitterly, and the whole audience
cried with him.

Thus the holiday of Pesach passed. After Pesach the government ordered all the
young Jewish men to arrive at six o'clock in front of the shul. At the
designated time, the boys arrived, and the Hungarian police was waiting for
them. They commanded them to empty the shul of all its benches and furniture.
All those who were present knew that they were lost. They began to remove the
benches and the chandeliers, and the shelves with the holy books and Gemoros,
and thousands of sets of Mishnayos. When everything was emptied, only the Aron
Kodesh (Holy Ark) was left. They refused to touch the Aron Kodesh because that
was their last hope. If the Aron would remain they would be able to return all
the other things that were removed. They stood in front of the Aron Kodesh as
if they were being nailed with nails to the floor of the empty shul. They told
the police that the Holy Aron belongs to them! It was built one hundred and
fifty years ago by holy Jews that did not use any nails. It was completely
fashioned by their pure hands, and built into the wall, at a depth of two
meters. Its height extended to the ceiling. They told the police that they will
not desecrate the Aron.

The boys clung to the four pillars of the Aron, which had already been robbed
of its white velvet paroches (outside covering or curtain) by the police. They
held on to the wooden snakes that were wound around the pillars, and they
turned their eyes toward the wooden lions that stood at the top of the Aron and
guarded the luchos (tablets) on top of it, as if they were asking them to guard
the Aron from being destroyed. A policeman summoned the shochet, Chayim
Peketeh, and asked him to bring a hatchet. When the shochet arrived and saw
what was taking place he kept quiet, and didn't react. His black, lively eyes
didn't look upward, and he prayed silently. He couldn't move.

Then one of the policemen grabbed the hatchet from his hand, and started to
break the Aron, and broke off its doors, thereby commanding the boys to remove
the Sifrei Torah. They removed the forty two Sifrei Torah that were in the
Aron, and in this procession they left the shul together with them. This was
the march of mourning for the whole community of Csenger. The tears of the
boys came down on the coverings of the Sifrei Torah, and the Rov's son, Rav
Shlomo Tzvi Hirsh Yungreis, cried out hysterically. He grabbed his head with
both his hands and cried out Woe to us, we are lost, and this is our
end!

That same night, all the Jews from the villages of Oyfalu and Oar were rounded
up together with the children and old people and herded into the large shul.
They slept on straw on the floor. The next day they were loaded on to horse
drawn wagons, and were taken to the Ghetto of Mátészalka. After all the Jews in
the villages were rounded up and taken away, and after the shul emptied out,
each time, they gathered the Jews of Csenger in the order of the streets that
they were living in. Every transport was kept for one night and one day in the
big shul, and then they were taken to Mátészalka.

The Jews from the villages of Gatz, Shima and Shmus Dara were assembled in the
Christian school in Tutfaloo, and were taken to the Ghetto the next day. The
wagons on which the Jewish families and their possessions were transported
belonged to Jews who owned farms. The horses were led by a Hungarian man from
the village. After he would take the Jews to the Ghetto, he would say in a loud
voice I got rid of you, and now the wagon and horse is mine. In the
course of one week, all the Jews of Csenger and the surrounding cities were
transported to the Ghetto in Mátészalka. They were only permitted to take their
clothing and food for a limited amount of time. From the city of Csenger, six
hundred and two people were rounded up. Everyone else had already been taken to
the forced labor camps. Only the women, children and old people were taken to
the Ghetto.

This procession of horse drawn wagons was a long one. The wagons were loaded
with the families of Jews who were humiliated to the biggest extent imaginable.
As the procession passed through the main street, the Hungarian women and
children were standing and watching on both sides of the road, without any pity
whatsoever. They didn't hide their happiness while they witnessed the plight of
the unfortunate Jews, and even clapped their hands. When the procession passed
the huts of the Gypsies who lived at one corner of the city, they displayed
pity toward their Jewish neighbors. Who, like them, knew what it felt to be
humiliated?

The Jews in the wagons had a yellow patch on their clothing in the form of a
Mogen Dovid, which every Jew from age three upward had to have sewn on his
clothes since the Germans came to Hungary.

The procession reached the corner of the city, and suddenly was stopped. What
happened? One Jewish person was missing. The police accompanying the procession
were running around in fright. They had a list of all the people who were
coming, and it seemed that one person was missing. While they were screaming,
one Jew came close to the procession from the direction of the city, and it
seemed that he was the missing person. He had forgotten his tallis, and he went
back to get it. Without anyone noticing he went home and took his tallis.

In the Ghetto in Mátészalka, there were eighteen thousand Jews together with all
the other Jews of the district. Four young German boys belonging to the S.S.
were appointed to rule the Ghetto. It wasn't for nothing that a young S.S. boy
boasted that he is only sixteen, and is ruling more than sixteen thousand
people. Doesn't that demonstrate how powerful he is?

In the Ghetto two families had to share one room. In an average size room 25-30
men were crammed in. Now started the hunger, and the different hardships which
they all went through, for a period of four to five weeks until they were
forced into the trains that brought them to Auschwitz.

Certain people who were known to be wealthy were not assigned to live together
with their families in the Ghetto. They were taken to the big shul in Matesalka
which was near the Ghetto. Their names were recorded on a special list by the
Hungarians who ruled Csenger, whose greed had no limits, and who wanted to rob
them. These unfortunate victims were tortured and beaten till blood flowed from
their wounds, in order that they should reveal where they hid their jewelry and
money. Before the Jews were banished from Csenger they were ordered to give
the government all the ornaments of gold and silver which they possessed. The
Jews in Csenger were known to be wealthy and prosperous, not only in fixed
assets such as land, but also but were also known to have an abundance of gold
and valuable certificates.

All those people that were taken into the large shul in Matesalka were tortured
by the officer named Jerry who was known for his bestiality. He prepared
instruments of torture such as leather belts and large and small sticks that
had iron on top. He ordered his victims to remove their clothing, and tortured
them in a way that was probably done at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, in
order that they should reveal where their money was hidden. (It is thanks to
the efforts of Meyer and Binyomin Lichtman, may they be well, that the officer
Jerry was hung in Budapest in 1945).

The young people in the Ghetto were ordered to guard the gates, so that no one
leaves their homes, even to venture out into the streets. The Rabbonim of the
large cities gathered together and fasted, and said special prayers to annul
these evil decrees.

The holy Rov, the Maggid of Csenger, Rav Yitzchok Shatun Ztl refused to eat or
drink. One day he disappeared, and his wife Necha, whose maiden name was
Yungreis, said that he hid in the roof of the house, and refused to eat or
speak with anyone. He slept on a sack, and died a few days later from weakness.

A few times a day the adults in the Ghetto were counted to make sure no one
escaped.

On the 27th day of Iyar the Jews who were in the Ghetto of
Mátészalka were forced to go into the trains that took them to Auschwitz. In the first
transport those who were in the big shul were taken. They were crammed in like
sheep taken to be slaughtered into trains that were used to transport cattle.
Eighty or ninety men were crowded into one car. Each car had four windows which
were enclosed in barbed wire. The congestion and suffocation was unbearable. In
this manner they travelled for one week, without food or water. One pail was
given to every cart for personal needs. The S.S. from time to time would throw
in some loaves of bread and marmalade.

On this last journey of theirs, they found notes that were hidden in the cracks
of the train's walls, and were written by the unfortunate Jews who were on the
previous transports. The notes were telling them not to enter the trains. They
said that they should either commit suicide or escape. The trains are destined
for Auschwitz where everyone is killed. They were advising them to either
escape or form a resistance, since the trains are taking them to their deaths.

The above transport reached Auschwitz on June 2, 1944. All its people were
commanded to leave their belongings on the trains, and to start walking in a
procession to the square. There the cruel Dr. Mengele was waiting for them,
wearing his impressive uniform and polished boots even at such a disastrous
time.

Dr. Mengele stood with his feet outstretched, thereby pointing to everyone who
should go to the right and who to the left. (Whoever was shown to the right was
supposed to be going to work, and whoever was shown to the left was supposed to
be going to the showers). People didn't know which direction was the best. They
didn't realize the purpose of these two different directions. They went
wherever the finger of the wicked Dr. Mengele directed them to go. He decided
the fate of all the prisoners.

Those who were in the column at the left turned to have one last look at their
dear ones from whom they were being taken away, while knowing that this was the
last walk they would be taking. They went to the showers to purify themselves
before their holy souls would be united with the holy souls of their ancestors.
Their ancestors were buried in Csenger. On their graves monuments of marble or
stone were placed, and the names and dates of each deceased person were marked.
However, unlike their ancestors, these unfortunate victims would not be buried.

[Page 52]

Chapter Seven

The Period of Time Following the Holocaust

In the spring of the year 1945, a few of us, who were the remnants of the city
of Csenger returned to our homes. After the terrible atrocities which the
Jewish people suffered, we were all filled with sorrow. We found our homes
emptied of our dear ones. Our parents and siblings were gone, and only the
walls were present. Our hopes that we would find our dear relatives were in
vain. The young people that were employed in the forced labor camps, or that
worked in the ammunition factories for the Germans, and were able to withstand
all the different types of tortures, remained alive. From each family, one or
two came back, while from others none remained.

We sat down on the ground and cried bitterly over the loss of our dear ones,
mourning the slaughtering of our people. We cried over the loss of our parents
that were burned in the crematoriums of Auschwitz, while sanctifying the name
of Hashem. We cried over the destruction of our community which was now bereft
of its members. We lamented as we recalled the holy martyrs who cried out as
they were being buried alive in pits. We recalled our old people and young
children. Everyone cried remembering their brothers and sisters and the plight
of the Jewish nation victimized by the sword. We put on sackcloth and mourned,
and refused to go on with our lives.

Little by little more people returned. We all realized that we could not
continue to live in the ruins of Csenger. We decided to go to Eretz Yisroel
and rebuild our lives there. That was the only place we could raise children
while being free of the terror of the Gentiles, and live a life of liberty.
Most of us went to Eretz Yisroel, and a few of us fought in the Battle of
Liberation in 1948. Some were wounded. However, they knew they were fighting a
battle for their own country and not for some foreign country. A bridge of fire
was built between the crematoriums of Auschwitz, to the fire of the War of
Liberation. This bridge led to the gates of Eretz Yisroel. It was through these
gates, that we, the people of Csenger entered, with all the other refugees of
the countries where the Holocaust took place.

The gate of the cemetery of Csenger

Most of us, the former residents of Csenger live in Eretz Yisroel, and we
number about one hundred people. We raised families here in Eretz Yisroel. One
third of the Jews of Csenger are still spread out in the lands of the Diaspora
such as Europe, America and Australia. In Csenger itself, not one Jewish
person was left. The great and holy shul was destroyed in the year 1963.

A few of the old people of Csenger such as Dr. Kasovitz Laslo, Lazar Lautman
and Martin Berger of Blessed Memory, who were directed by the last head of the
community council, Dr. Berger Frantz, may he be well, sold part of the property
of the community that was left. In the year 1962 they built a high enclosure of
concrete around the cemetery in Csenger, which is the resting place of the
great tzadikkim and founders of the community who passed away before the
Holocaust. The holy martyrs of the Holocaust have no grave. In order that we,
the refugees, should be able to gather together on their memorial day, we
erected an eternal monument for them in Har Tzion in Jerusalem. Every year we
gather there on the twelfth day of Sivan and say Kaddish for their souls.

[Page 54]

Yizkor Hashem

May Hashem Remember

As we gather, we say Let Hashem remember the holy Jews of Csenger and
the surrounding cities, the fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, children
and infants, that were murdered, and burned alive and drowned, choked, and
tortured to death, and buried alive because they were Jewish. May Hashem avenge
their blood.

May Hashem remember the dear, unfortunate victims whose blood he will avenge,
and may their souls be tied to the bond of Eternal Life.

May Hashem remember our Rabbi, and the shuls, and the holy seforim that were
destroyed, the great Yeshiva with its students, May Hashem avenge their blood.

Portrait of the monument
erected for the martyrs of Csenger
in the Chamber of the Holocaust
in Har Tzion in Yerusholayim

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc.
and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of fulfilling our
mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and
destroyed Jewish communities. This material may not be copied,
sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be
reserved by the copyright holder.

JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification. JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.